


Not This Way

by angelaodinsdottir



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Captain America - Freeform, Character Death, Heavy Angst, Iron Man - Freeform, M/M, So much angst, Steve Rogers Feels, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tony Stark Angst, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 17:42:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16045376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelaodinsdottir/pseuds/angelaodinsdottir
Summary: Both Tony and Steve knew something was wrong as soon as the Red Skull appeared on Vormir. They never expected this.





	Not This Way

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Never in a million years would Tony ever think he was going to in this situation. When the remaining Avengers figured out that the only way to defeat Thanos was to turn back time and assemble the gauntlet before he did, they’d known that it wasn’t going to be an easy task. Only Tony and Steve would know exactly difficult it actually was.

 

It had come down to the final Stone. The Soul Stone. The Avengers were so close to getting their loved ones back and restoring the universe, that none of them stopped to think about this one. And when Nebula informed the group of the location of the final missing stone, Tony and Steve were the first volunteers. They both left in a leftover quinjet before anyone could object. As the pair were taking off, Tony turned one last time to see his friends as they got smaller, but what he saw was so unexpected it knocked the breath out of him. Nebula’s face was twisted into the absolute saddest expression he’d ever seen a being create. Tony knew now why she looked so disheartened. 

 

“No,” Steve uttered, shock and disbelief clearly evident in his voice. “Tony, th-this is insane! I-you-uh,” he stuttered on. “We have to go back. We need to talk with the team, formulate a plan! There must be a way to get around this, there must be!” Tony wished it could be that easy, but he knew in his heart that there was no getting out of this. 

 

“We can’t go back, Steve,” Tony stated. He was surprised to hear how steady his voice was, not a single waver or crack. 

 

“WHY? Why can’t we go back?! Why, Tony?” Steve sounded so frantic, so clearly upset that Tony had to close his eyes and take a deep breath. 

 

“Because you heard the same thing I did. The Red Skull said a soul for a soul. If we leave...Steve...if we leave, we’ll be sending two more of our friends away. One of them is going to die and one of them is going to come back alive, trying to live with themself after what they did. Don’t you understand? It has to be  _ us  _ and more importantly, it has to be  _ me _ .” Tony had never seen Steve Rogers become so pale before. Words exploded out of Steve’s mouth, probably him trying to convince Tony that it shouldn’t be him, but Tony wasn’t listening. He was too busy memorizing every detail of Steven Grant Rogers. It was in that very moment, that Tony saw just how gorgeous Steve was. His hair was long, not like Barnes’, but it was still long. Tony wanted to lay down and run his fingers through it, just one last time. His eyes were the most perfect, most vibrant shade of baby-blue. They were gorgeous and secretive. Even in this moment, where they were clouded with tears, Tony knew that he would never know all the secrets they held, no one ever would. Steve’s beard was neatly trimmed and framed his face so well. It made his cheekbones seem higher than they already were and sharpened his already knife-sharp jawline. Tony had never seen someone more gorgeous in his entire life and he was glad, so glad, that Steve was going to be last person he ever saw. It made him smile. 

 

“How the hell are you smiling at a moment like this, Shellhead? I can’t-,” Steve broke off mid-sentence. The air around them was heavy with sadness. They fell into a long silence and for a few moments, all they could hear was the wind as it passed over the rocks. 

 

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Steve whispered. It was so quiet.

 

“I know Steve, I know it wasn’t. Just hold me.” Steve took Tony’s outstretched hand and let himself be guided toward the edge of the cliff. The wind got stronger and louder, it made Steve’s honey-golden hair move. 

 

“Please don’t do this Tony,” Steve was crying at this point, he didn’t even try to disguise it. Tony wanted to wipe those tears away, just one last time, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he took a deep breath.

 

“It’s okay, baby. I’m not afraid, I never have been,” Tony confessed. “And besides, the world never needed me, it only ever need Iron Man. No one ever needed Tony Stark.” 

 

“You’re wrong, Tony! I need you, I need you so bad. I, Steven Grant Rogers, born July 4, 1918, otherwise known as Captain America, has always needed you, from the moment we met. I will always need you,” Steve spoke the words fast, as if Tony would jump off the edge before he got them out. “I love you.” 

 

And Tony smiled, a genuine one. 

 

“That’s where you’re wrong, Steve. You’ve never needed anyone for 77 years. Not since Erskine pumped you full of drugs,” Tony professed, without any venom or sarcasm. “Walk with me, Steve.”

 

They walked two steps forward, Steve’s wet face pressed to Tony’s the whole time. Once they stopped, Steve closed his eyes. 

 

“Now let me go.” Steve’s hand reluctantly left Tony’s hand, and for this first time in his whole life, Tony was flying, not as Iron Man, but as Tony Stark. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh!!! I posted this on my [tumblr](lokisbarneswrites.tumblr.com) as well! 
> 
> My main [tumblr](lokisbarnes.tumblr.com)


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